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Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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Minorities in Congress flex muscles with mixed results

Congress experienced a chaotic week as surprise resolutions and petitions disrupted the legislative schedule, leading to a flurry of votes on war...

yesterday 0

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Trump's foreign election ad-Vance man

Vice President JD Vance endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for reelection in last Sunday's parliamentary elections, despite the...

16.04.2026 4

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

A special session for Homeland Security funding?

President Trump had considered calling Congress into special session to resolve the funding stalemate at the Department of Homeland Security, but two...

09.04.2026 3

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Partisan contempt of Congress citations intensify public contempt for Congress

Congress and the current president have become more punitively partisan, resulting in an increase in partisan investigations and prosecutions, which...

02.04.2026 4

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

A war by any other name is still a war

President Trump's characterization of the U.S.-Israeli aerial bombardments of Iran as a "little excursion" has been met with criticism, as the...

26.03.2026 6

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Both parties are struggling with midterm messaging

The upcoming midterm elections are still very much up in the air, with both parties struggling to devise messages to gain or maintain power in...

19.03.2026 7

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Anti-war activists in Congress flex limited procedural muscles

Congress has attempted to terminate the U.S. military involvement in Iran by passing a concurrent resolution, but the president has opposed it and the...

12.03.2026 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

How expansive is the Constitution's 'speech or debate' clause?

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) appealed to the First Amendment to block the "censure" levied against him by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and U.S....

05.03.2026 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Members’ video raises issues of sedition and free speech

Six members of Congress, all Democrats and former military or intelligence veterans, posted a video urging active military personnel to not obey...

26.02.2026 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Groundhog Day: How House members and senators exploit procedure to get their way

The House and Senate have been at odds over the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, with the House passing a resolution to terminate the...

19.02.2026 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Congress struggles for ICE breaker compromise

Congress passed a compromise deal to fund five of the six remaining appropriations bills for the rest of the fiscal year, and put the sixth on...

05.02.2026 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Congress is taking stock of proposed ethics rules

Congress is considering a bipartisan bill to ban stock trading by members, their spouses and dependent children, and to divest all current stock...

22.01.2026 9

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Is a declaration of not-war in Venezuela a stretch?  

The U.S. invasion of Venezuela was justified by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a law enforcement operation to arrest President Nicolas Maduro and...

15.01.2026 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Are House discharge petitions effective?

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has launched a petition drive to extend the ObamaCare subsidies that expired on Jan. 1, and after...

08.01.2026 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Trump pressures high court on pending tariff ruling

The President has appealed to the Supreme Court to uphold his authority to set tariff rates, while Congress has been happy to delegate tariff...

18.12.2025 10

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Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Was the government shutdown a case of fiscal insanity? 

After a record-breaking 43-day government shutdown, Congress and the president must find a way to prevent future shutdowns, such as providing an...

20.11.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Are the drug boat bombings covered by the War Powers Resolution?

Congress has shown "benign ambivalence" towards President Trump's bombing of alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean, with questions being raised...

13.11.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Live updates: Senate to vote a 10th time to end government shutdown

The Senate will vote for the 10th time on a spending bill to reopen the government as the shutdown stretches into its third week. The measure is...

16.10.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Watch: Johnson speaks to reporters as Senate votes on defense bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held his daily press conference amid the government shutdown, now into its third week. Senate GOP leaders have...

16.10.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

As the world turns, news repeats itself but is never boring

After returning from a two-week tour in Europe, the author reflects on the importance of taking a break from the news and immersing oneself in...

16.10.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Live updates: Trump to patrol DC streets; NY appeals court tosses his civil fraud fine

President Trump said he would patrol the streets of the District of Columbia on Thursday night, amid his administration's efforts to crack down on...

21.08.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Senate judicial confirmation delays spark President Trump's ire

The recent flare-up between President Trump and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) conjures the image of two elderly...

21.08.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Attorney General will likely defy obscure information disclosure law on Epstein files 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and seven Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee have invoked a 1928 law to demand...

07.08.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Epstein case highlights Congress's attention tactics

In the House of Representatives, many members compete for attention to make the news, but those who succeed in attracting the spotlight often face...

31.07.2025 10

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Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Epstein controversy sets capitol dome spinning 

The Justice Department's evidence on Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case has sparked a scandal, with both Democrats and Republicans vying for full...

24.07.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Military parades are as American as apple strudel 

On June 14, President Trump will host a military parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which will include...

05.06.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Remembering Gerry Connolly: Can one member make a difference in Congress?

Congress is in a state of decline due to its failure to respond to the administration's encroachments, but Gerry Connolly's legacy reminds us that...

29.05.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Can we prevent the possibility of a cover up about the president’s health? 

The alleged cover-up of President Joe Biden's declining mental capacity has been exposed in the book "Original Sin" by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson....

22.05.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Congress's dilemma: Budget goals versus political reality

Congress is struggling to reconcile budget goals with reality, as the paradox of budget reconciliation highlights the difficulty of achieving fiscal...

15.05.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Are House resolutions of inquiry obsolete? 

House Republicans adopted a special rule to freeze resolutions of inquiry, preventing the House from gaining information on the Signalgate scandal, in...

08.05.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Is America returning to isolationism? 

President Donald Trump's neo-isolationist policies differ from the ideals of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who advocated for peaceful...

01.05.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Has the magic asterisk returned as budgetary gimmick? 

Congress has passed a budget resolution that includes extending expiring tax cuts for middle- and upper-income taxpayers, border security funding, and...

17.04.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Is the 1798 Alien Enemies Act still relevant today? 

The Trump administration deported of 137 Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Judge James E. Boasberg ordered flights not to...

27.03.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Can Congress dig itself out of its three holes?

Congress faces a lot of challenges, with low job approval ratings, a doubling of the deficit, and the president's unitary executive theory threatening...

20.03.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

'Review' time: Congress looks to its own regulatory veto process

Congress has a process called the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows it to disapprove proposed federal regulations, and while it has been used...

06.03.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

Trump's executive orders tread a perilous path through the courts

President Trump has used executive orders to freeze federal programs and agencies, sparking clashes with courts and raising questions about the...

20.02.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

What will happen to Congress's standing committees? 

The standing committees in the House and Senate are facing challenges as the world becomes more complex, making it harder for Congress to tackle new...

06.02.2025 10

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor

House Speaker to create another select committee on January 6 attack

House Speaker Mike Johnson has formed a select subcommittee to further investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, assaults on the U.S. Capitol, while Rep. Barry...

30.01.2025 20

The Hill

Don Wolfensberger, Opinion Contributor